


Visit

by TheTrashiverse



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Awkward Conversations, F/M, Feels, Force Ghost(s), Gentle Kissing, POV Rey (Star Wars), Redeemed Ben Solo, The Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTrashiverse/pseuds/TheTrashiverse
Summary: While tying up some loose ends on Jakku, Rey has a visit from someone unexpected. Takes place a few months after the events of Rise of Skywalker.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: this story is FULL of spoilers for Rise of Skywalker. Do not read any further if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to be spoiled. (I know it's been out for almost a year now but just in case...)
> 
> Still here? Awesome.
> 
> Now, without further ado... the Rey/Ben closure we've all been longing for!

Rey blinked awake to two glowing eyes staring into her own from inches away.

In an instant, she was out of her makeshift pallet bed and on her feet, lightsaber buzzing to life in her hand. It was only through the strength of her training that she held back her scream. Who had found her? Who even _knew_ about this place? 

The answer grew clear as her eyes focused on the hazy, translucent figure standing just a few feet beyond the yellow light of her saber’s blade.

“Relax, it’s just me.” 

He said it so casually, with a twinkle in his eye and a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. _The nerve._ Rey flipped the switch to turn off her saber and shoved it back into her belt. 

“Ben,” she said tightly. “What are you doing here?”

He tucked his hands into the pockets of his robes, posture deflating a bit.

“I thought you’d be glad to see me.” 

Rey’s eyes narrowed.

“I would have been glad to see you alive.”

Her chest constricted with a thousand emotions all flooding into her at once. Over and over, she’d imagined what this moment might be like, but the one feeling that rose to the surface was bitterness. She needed to get away from him, to put some distance between them for a moment so she could clear her thoughts.

She ducked her head and rushed toward the hatch that led outside. As she pushed past him, her shoulder bumped against something solid.

Rey stopped in her tracks, turning to stare at Ben. She shouldn’t be able to touch him — not in this form. She’d tried enough times to embrace Leia’s ghost, only for her arms to pass right through her. There was no way Rey had felt what she thought she’d felt… was there?

Carefully, she reached out and tapped her fingertips against his arm. It was as firm and real as if he were still alive.

“How are you doing that?” she demanded, poking harder at his bicep. This time her fingers slipped beneath the surface, as though he were made of no more than air.

“I can’t hold it for long,” Ben said. “I’m still learning how it works.” A pensive look crossed over his eyes. “There’s so much you learn when you become one with the Force.” 

Rey crossed her arms over her chest.

“I wouldn’t know.” 

She stepped through the hatch and sat in the sand, back pressed to the armored hull of the abandoned Imperial walker she had once called home. The sky was so clear tonight that she could see every star, filling the darkness above and casting their pale glow on the endless dunes that stretched out before her. Under their light, her skin was almost as luminescent as her ghostly visitor’s. 

Ben joined her a few seconds later, sinking down at her side.

“Rey — ” he began, but she cut him off sharply.

“Did you know this would happen?” She searched his face for any sign of guilt, any hint of a lie. “When you saved me, was this the future you saw?”

“I wasn’t thinking about the future,” Ben answered without hesitation. “I was only thinking about you.” 

Rey’s jaw clenched.

“You shouldn’t have done it,” she said. 

“What was I supposed to do, just let you die?” Ben rebutted. “No, I did exactly what you would have done for me… what you did do for me.” 

Rey kept her gaze carefully focused on her knees, refusing to let whatever expression was on his face sway her. He was right, of course, she _knew_ he was right — and yet… 

“Whatever happened, we should have been together,” she whispered.

“We are together,” Ben insisted. “I’m here, aren’t I?” 

Rey turned her head back in his direction, fixing him with a pointed glare.

“You know that’s not what I mean.” 

To her frustration, Ben’s eyes only softened fondly at the jab, mouth relaxing into the same hint of a smile he’d been wearing when he first appeared. _Stop looking at me like that, you jerk_ , she thought. 

“Why didn’t you come sooner?” she asked.

Ben gave a little shrug.

“You’ve been hard to find,” he said.

“Liar,” Rey shot back. “Leia found me right away.” 

And it was true — Leia had first appeared before Rey not long after she’d returned to the Resistance and reunited with her friends. That first visit had been slightly jarring; Leia just stood there gazing at her in silence, not yet able to speak in her ghostly form. But with Luke showing her the ropes of her new powers, it wasn’t long before Leia was stopping by every week to check on Rey and offer support and advice. Luke had joined her a couple of times, most recently on Tatooine when Rey had buried both of their lightsabers. 

Rey had called out to Ben every night, hoping he would come too. But he hadn’t shown up even once, nor given any sign that she was reaching him at all. The connection between their minds had gone silent the moment his body had disappeared, leaving a void where she’d once been constantly aware of his presence. Rey had felt his absence like a hole in her heart, stinging and throbbing at the edges. 

“…What’s your excuse?” she finished.

Ben exhaled slowly through his nose.

“All right, you weren’t that hard to find,” he admitted. “But I figured I’d wait until the right time. You looked like you were busy, going around to so many different places.”

“Of course I’ve been busy,” Rey huffed. “I’ve had a whole galaxy to help fix after — after _he_ destroyed it.” A shudder passed through her at the thought of the emperor. After all this time, she still hadn’t quite processed her relation to him. It was easier to keep avoiding it, to pretend it wasn’t true now that he was finally gone. Once again, she shoved the thought away and turned her focus back on Ben. “I was hoping you would be around to help me.” 

“I wanted to be,” Ben said. “I still want to be, in whatever way I can.” His face grew pensive. “You know, maybe I can do more good from over here. If I were still on your side, I don’t think anybody could see past what I used to be.” 

_That’s not true_ , Rey thought. _If I can, they can._

She hastily shoved the words from her mind and said instead, “And what exactly can you do?” 

“Keep an eye on things,” Ben said. “Gather intelligence. Report it to you if I see anyone trying to revive the First Order.” He propped his elbows onto his knees, resting his chin in his hands as he surveyed their surroundings. “You know, I can move around the Galaxy a lot faster than you, if there’s anywhere you need me to go.” His eyes reconnected with hers. “What brings you back to Jakku, anyway?” 

“Just tying up some loose ends,” Rey answered. 

“Where are you headed next?” Ben asked. 

Rey let out a sigh, glancing up at the stars.

“I’m looking for somewhere to start a new Jedi academy,” she said. “I have a few ideas, but I need to check them out first.” 

“I can take half and you can take the other,” Ben offered, but Rey stopped him with a shake of her head.

“My list isn’t that long,” she said. She drew in a breath and looked straight into his eyes. “I’d rather you come with me.” 

Ben nodded.

“Of course,” he said, “just tell me when.” 

“You’ll actually come when I call you this time?” Rey pressed.

“Yes,” Ben said. “I promise.” 

For the first time since he’d arrived, Rey smiled.

They rose from the sand and walked back toward the hatch, but Ben paused just outside it.

“I have to go,” he said. “The rest of my family needs me.” 

A surge of denial burst through Rey’s chest at the thought of him leaving. She hadn’t seen him in months, and she wasn’t ready to say goodbye so soon. She quickly tamped down the urge to keep him there, instead giving him a look of understanding.

“Tell them I said hello.” 

“I will,” he said. “And I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

“You’d better.” Rey fixed him with a serious stare. When he began to step away, she added, “Wait. Make yourself solid again.” 

She gave Ben a few seconds to change his form, then moved in closer. The transformation hadn’t been visible to her eye, but when she reached out to touch his shoulder, it felt strong and real beneath her palm.

Tentatively, she brought up her other hand to cup his jaw, then pulled him down into a gentle kiss.

She felt his arms wrap around her, embracing her as his lips moved softly against hers. This was nothing like when she’d kissed him before, heart pounding with a mix of hope and desperation. Instead it was slow and sweet, something she could savor. 

She wished she could have kissed him like this when he was still alive. When his hands and arms and lips were still warm, and didn’t fade back into something like smoke the moment the two of them parted.

Ben’s face split into a smirk as Rey drew back.

“I guess that means you’re not still mad at me?” he teased, eyes gleaming.

“Of course I am,” Rey said, “don’t flatter yourself.” But she couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her own lips.

“I’ll see you, Rey,” Ben said as his ghostly figure faded away into nothingness, leaving only the vast expanse of sand and stars in his wake.

It was a long time before Rey could calm her mind enough to let sleep take her again.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my first foray into writing Reylo! 
> 
> My progression of shipping these two has been so weird. I didn't ship them at all during The Force Awakens, though I totally respected why other people did, and appreciated them as a just-for-fun, almost crackship kind of thing. Then The Last Jedi got me lowkey shipping them, but not really invested — I wasn't creating or consuming fanworks, making playlists, any of my usual shipping stuff. But when I saw Rise of Skywalker... BOOM! OTP. I think it all boils down to the fact that I don't actually ship Rey and Kylo Ren, but I ship the HELL out of Rey and Ben Solo. So now I've entered the Reylo fandom at a time when everything is on fire and we're all dying of feels.
> 
> Anyway, leave me a comment and tell me what you thought of this ficlet! I have a much more expansive idea where this fic would be the prologue to a longer and more involved story. But I wanted to post it as a standalone for now and see how y'all liked it. If you're interested in seeing more of this universe, let me know. 
> 
> Thanks a bunch for reading! :)


End file.
